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| Beautifully folded tees make it quick to choose a top. |
I've spent countless hours chasing my tail when it comes to organizing my home. Once one area has been "organized", another area needs attention, and then another, and it is soon time to start all over again. It is a vicious cycle full of bins, storage tubs, and pretty patterned boxes. I only need to find the right container or storage system and my home will be put in order and I can finally rest. This was my mindset. This was my mantra.
By tucking items away out of sight, things may seem clutter free and in order for a bit, but clutter has a way of escaping those pretty patterned boxes and perfectly sized baskets. Soon, I'm face to face with the Clutter Monster and he's gaining ground. He'll take over my home room by room, unless I fight the battle daily. It's disheartening. It's exhausting. It's depressing. My home is no longer a sanctuary. It is a prison. I'm being controlled by my possessions and I am tired of fighting a loosing battle.
I'm not sure how I stumbled on the KonMari method. I suppose it came across my news feed from one of the many organizing groups to which I subscribe. The name intrigued me. It seemed foreign and magical. Upon further searching, I discovered the KonMari method was created by a petite Japanese woman by the name of Marie Kondo and in fact, her best selling book is titled, "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing ." In a matter of moments, I had placed the book in my online shopping cart and it was soon in my hands. Though small in size (5.2 inches by 7.3 inches) and length (a little over 200 pages), Kondo's book is big on Joy. In fact, the heart of the KonMari method is to declutter and discard all items in your home that do not "spark joy."
To determine if your items meet this joy sparking criteria, you must sort through each category of items in your home in a specific order. Every item must be held in your hands and you must ask yourself, "Does this item bring me joy?" If it brings a smile to your heart and you feel warm fuzzies inside, then the item makes the cut. If not, then the item is promptly thanked for its service and discarded. Kondo believes that every item holds energy and by thanking an item for the role it has played in your life, you are releasing that energy to reenter your life in another form at another time.
As Kondo suggests, I began my KonMari journey by tackling my clothing. I soon found that while the KonMari method is simple, it is not easy.
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| My closet is now neat and orderly. I can find things at a glance and I no longer feel overwhelmed when choosing an outfit. |
Clearing out items has always been a struggle for me. If I thought I may need something someday, or if something was still good , I believed it was worth keeping. Since I started clearing things out using the KonMari method, I feel so much lighter and I've noticed the more items I sort and properly store, the more time I seem to get back in my day. Once items in a category pass the "Joy Test," the items are promptly put away. They need no additional attention. Prior to beginning the KonMari process, I was spending time trying to maintain and organize items that didn't really matter. I have completed the clothing category and am now ready to move on to the next category, books. The tail chasing has ceased, at least as far as my wardrobe is concerned, and I couldn't be happier with my progress.
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| Eleven bags of items were thanked for their service and discarded. The nicest items were pulled out for consignment and/or sale and the others were donated to charity . |
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